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Full-Text Articles in Civil Rights and Discrimination

Doux Commerce, Religion, And The Limits Of Antidiscrimination Law, Nathan B. Oman Sep 2019

Doux Commerce, Religion, And The Limits Of Antidiscrimination Law, Nathan B. Oman

Nathan B. Oman

Recent cases involving religious businesses owners who object to providing services for same-sex weddings and resulting lawsuits have generated a vigorous academic and popular debate. That debate centers in part on the proper role of religion in the market. This article develops three theories of the proper relationship between commerce and religion and applies them to these conflicts. The first approach would apply the norms of liberal democratic governments to market actors. The second approach posits that any market outcome is legitimate so long as it results from voluntary contracts. These approaches yield contradictory and indeterminate advice on the conflicts …


Brief For Professor Kent Greenfield As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Respondents, State Of Washington Vs. Arlene's Flowers And Ingersoll Vs. Arlene's Flowers, Kent Greenfield Mar 2019

Brief For Professor Kent Greenfield As Amicus Curiae In Support Of Respondents, State Of Washington Vs. Arlene's Flowers And Ingersoll Vs. Arlene's Flowers, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

This amicus curiae brief addresses a fundamental state-law premise of Appellants’ constitutional claims that has gone largely unexplored in the prior briefing: whether Arlene’s Flowers, a Washington for-profit corporation, may obtain an exemption from generally applicable laws based on the religious beliefs of a shareholder, Mrs. Stutzman. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Appellants assert that “Arlene’s free-exercise rights are synonymous with Mrs. Stutzman’s.” Those two cases, however, had nothing to do with Washington corporate law and took no stance on the authority of …


A Fresh Look At Title Vii: Sexual Orientation Discrimination As Sex Discrimination, Anthony Michael Kreis May 2018

A Fresh Look At Title Vii: Sexual Orientation Discrimination As Sex Discrimination, Anthony Michael Kreis

Anthony Michael Kreis

Since 2006, the Illinois Human Rights Act has prohibited discrimination in employment because of an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Until 2017, employees discriminated against because of their sexual orientation had no federal cause of action, however. In a landmark decision, Hively v. Ivy Tech, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the first appellate court to hold that federal law’s prohibition of sex discrimination in the workplace also proscribed sexual orientation discrimination. The Hively decision is a substantial departure from decades’ worth of Seventh Circuit precedent and created a split between the circuits. This Article examines …


Religion And Marriage Equality Statutes, Nelson Tebbe Sep 2017

Religion And Marriage Equality Statutes, Nelson Tebbe

Nelson Tebbe

To date, every state statute that has extended marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples has included accommodations for actors who oppose such marriages on religious grounds. Debate over those accommodations has occurred mostly between, on the one hand, people who urge broader religion protections and, on the other hand, those who support the types of accommodations that typically have appeared in existing statutes. This article argues that the debate should be widened to include arguments that the existing accommodations are normatively and constitutionally problematic. Even states that presumptively are most friendly to LGBT citizens, as measured by their demonstrated …


Stages Of Constitutional Grief: Democratic Constitutionalism And The Marriage Revolution, Anthony Michael Kreis Feb 2017

Stages Of Constitutional Grief: Democratic Constitutionalism And The Marriage Revolution, Anthony Michael Kreis

Anthony Michael Kreis

Do courts matter?

Historically, many social movements have turned to the courts to help achieve sweeping social change. Because judicial institutions are supposed to be above the political fray, they are sometimes believed to be immune from ordinary political pressures that otherwise slow down progress. Substantial scholarship casts doubt on this romanticized ideal of courts. This Article posits a new, interactive theory of courts and social movements, under which judicial institutions can legitimize and fuel social movements, but outside actors are necessary to enhance the courts’ social reform efficacy. Under this theory, courts matter and can be agents of social …


Grasping Fatherhood In Abortion And Adoption.Pdf, Malinda L. Seymore Dec 2016

Grasping Fatherhood In Abortion And Adoption.Pdf, Malinda L. Seymore

Malinda L. Seymore

Biology makes a mother, but it does not make a father.  While a mother is a legal parent by reason of her biological relationship with her child, a father is not a legal parent unless he takes affirmative steps to grasp fatherhood.  Being married to the mother at the time of conception or at the time of birth is one of those affirmative steps. But if he is not married to the mother, he must do far more before he will be legally recognized as a father. Biology is often presented as a sufficient reason for this dichotomy – it …


When God Hates: How Liberal Guilt Lets The New Right Get Away With Murder, Jose M. Gabilondo Aug 2016

When God Hates: How Liberal Guilt Lets The New Right Get Away With Murder, Jose M. Gabilondo

José Gabilondo

No abstract provided.


Sexuality And Sovereignty: The Global Limits And Possibilities Of Lawrence Symposium: Legal Rights In Historical Perspective: From The Margins To The Mainstream, Sonia K. Katyal Apr 2016

Sexuality And Sovereignty: The Global Limits And Possibilities Of Lawrence Symposium: Legal Rights In Historical Perspective: From The Margins To The Mainstream, Sonia K. Katyal

Sonia Katyal

In the summer of 2003, the Supreme Court handed gay and lesbian activists a stunning victory in the decision of Lawrence v. Texas, which summarily overruled Bowers v. Hardwick. At issue was whether Texas' prohibition of same-sex sexual conduct violated the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In a powerful, poetic, and strident opinion, Justice Kennedy, writing for a six-member majority, reversed Bowers, observing that individual decisions regarding physical intimacy between consenting adults, either of the same or opposite sex, are constitutionally protected, and thus fall outside of the reach of state intervention. Volumes can be written about the …


Dissident Citizen, The Symposium: Sexuality & Gender Law: Assessing The Field, Envisioning The Future, Sonia K. Katyal Apr 2016

Dissident Citizen, The Symposium: Sexuality & Gender Law: Assessing The Field, Envisioning The Future, Sonia K. Katyal

Sonia Katyal

We have arrived at a crossroads in terms of the intersection between law, sexuality, and globalization. Historically, and even today, the majority of accounts of GLBT migration tend to remain focused on “a narrative of movement from repression to freedom, or a heroic journey undertaken in search of liberation.” Within this narrative, the United States is usually cast as a land of opportunity and liberation, a place that represents freedom from discrimination and economic opportunity. But this narrative also elides the complexity that erupts from grappling with the reality that many other jurisdictions outside of the United States can be …


Bridging The Gap Between Intent And Status: A New Framework For Modern Parentage, Yehezkel Margalit Jan 2016

Bridging The Gap Between Intent And Status: A New Framework For Modern Parentage, Yehezkel Margalit

Hezi Margalit

The last few decades have witnessed dramatic changes in the conceptualization and methodologies of determining legal parentage in the U.S. and other countries in the western world. Through various sociological shifts, growing social openness and bio-medical innovations, the traditional definitions of family and parenthood have been dramatically transformed. This transformation has led to an acute and urgent need for legal and social frameworks to regulate the process of determining legal parentage. Moreover, instead of progressing in a piecemeal, ad-hoc manner, the framework for determining legal parentage should be comprehensive. Only a comprehensive solution will address the differing needs of today’s …


From Baby M To Baby M(Anji): Regulating International Surrogacy Agreements, Yehezkel Margalit Jan 2016

From Baby M To Baby M(Anji): Regulating International Surrogacy Agreements, Yehezkel Margalit

Hezi Margalit

In 1985, when Kim Cotton became Britain’s first commercial surrogate mother, Europe was exposed to the issue of surrogacy for the first time on a large scale. Three years later, in 1988, the famous case of Baby M drew the attention of the American public to surrogacy as well. These two cases implicated fundamental ethical and legal issues regarding domestic surrogacy and triggered a fierce debate about motherhood, child-bearing, and the relationship between procreation, science and commerce. These two cases exemplified the debate regarding domestic surrogacy - a debate that has now been raging for decades. Contrary to the well-known …


“It’S A Kākou Thing”: The Dadt Repeal And A New Vocabulary Of Anti-Subordination, Kim D. Chanbonpin Dec 2015

“It’S A Kākou Thing”: The Dadt Repeal And A New Vocabulary Of Anti-Subordination, Kim D. Chanbonpin

Kim D. Chanbonpin

No abstract provided.


“It’S A Kākou Thing”: The Dadt Repeal And A New Vocabulary Of Anti-Subordination, Kim D. Chanbonpin Dec 2015

“It’S A Kākou Thing”: The Dadt Repeal And A New Vocabulary Of Anti-Subordination, Kim D. Chanbonpin

Kim D. Chanbonpin

No abstract provided.


Amicus Brief In "Obergefell V. Hodges", Tanya M. Washington, Catherine Smith, Lauren Fontana, Susannah Pollvogt Nov 2015

Amicus Brief In "Obergefell V. Hodges", Tanya M. Washington, Catherine Smith, Lauren Fontana, Susannah Pollvogt

Tanya Monique Washington

Supreme Court precedent establishes that the government may not punish children for matters beyond their control. Same-sex marriage bans and non-recognition laws (“marriage bans”) do precisely this. The states argue that marriage is good for children, yet marriage bans categorically exclude an entire class of children – children of same-sex couples – from the legal, economic and social benefits of marriage.

This amicus brief recounts a powerful body of equal protection jurisprudence that prohibits punishing children to reflect moral disapproval of parental conduct or to incentivize adult behavior. We then explain that marriage bans punish children of same-sex couples because …


Sex In And Out Of Intimacy, Laura A. Rosenbury, Jennifer E. Rothman Oct 2015

Sex In And Out Of Intimacy, Laura A. Rosenbury, Jennifer E. Rothman

Laura A. Rosenbury

The state has long attempted to regulate sexual activity by channeling sex into various forms of state-supported intimacy. Although commentators and legal scholars of diverse political perspectives generally believe such regulation is declining, the freedom to engage in diverse sexual activities has not been established as a matter of law. Instead, courts have extended legal protection to consensual sexual acts only to the extent such acts support other state interests, most often marriage and procreation. Although Lawrence v. Texas altered some aspects of that vision, it reinscribed others by suggesting that sexual activity should be protected from state interference only …


Bisexuals Need Not Apply: A Comparative Appraisal Of Refugee Law And Policy In Canada, The United States, And Australia, Sean Rehaag Oct 2015

Bisexuals Need Not Apply: A Comparative Appraisal Of Refugee Law And Policy In Canada, The United States, And Australia, Sean Rehaag

Sean Rehaag

This paper offers an analysis of refugee claims on grounds of bisexuality. After discussing the grounds on which sexual minorities may qualify for refugee status under international refugee law, the paper empirically assesses the success rates of bisexual refugee claimants in three major host states: Canada, the United States, and Australia. It concludes that bisexuals are significantly less successful than other sexual minority groups in obtaining refugee status in those countries. Through an examination of selected published decisions involving bisexual refugee claimants, the author identifies two main areas for concern that may partly account for the difficulties that bisexual refugee …


Coming Out: Decision-Making In State And Federal Sodomy Cases, Susan Ayres Jul 2015

Coming Out: Decision-Making In State And Federal Sodomy Cases, Susan Ayres

Susan Ayres

In 1791, American states were enacting laws against sodomy at the same time they ratified the Bill of Rights, the first ten constitutional amendments meant to safeguard fundamental rights of individuals in a free society. In a March 1789 letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson asserted that a bill of rights was necessary to give the judiciary the power to protect such individual rights. Ironically, that which the judiciary gives, it may also take away, since "[t]he legislator is a writer. And the judge a reader."

This Article deconstructs recent sodomy cases in order to challenge judicial adoption or reinscription …


The Wedding Bells Heard Around The World: Years From Now, Will We Wonder Why We Worried About Same-Sex Marriage, 24 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 589 (2004), Mark E. Wojcik Jul 2015

The Wedding Bells Heard Around The World: Years From Now, Will We Wonder Why We Worried About Same-Sex Marriage, 24 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 589 (2004), Mark E. Wojcik

Mark E. Wojcik

No abstract provided.


Aids And Funeral Homes: Common Legal Issues Facing Funeral Directors, 27 J. Marshall L. Rev. 411 (1994), Mark E. Wojcik Jul 2015

Aids And Funeral Homes: Common Legal Issues Facing Funeral Directors, 27 J. Marshall L. Rev. 411 (1994), Mark E. Wojcik

Mark E. Wojcik

No abstract provided.


Lawrence Beyond Gay Rights: Taking The Rationality Requirement For Justifying Criminal Statutes Seriously, 53 Drake L. Rev. 231 (2005), Donald L. Beschle Jun 2015

Lawrence Beyond Gay Rights: Taking The Rationality Requirement For Justifying Criminal Statutes Seriously, 53 Drake L. Rev. 231 (2005), Donald L. Beschle

Donald L. Beschle

No abstract provided.


“It’S A Kākou Thing”: The Dadt Repeal And A New Vocabulary Of Anti-Subordination, 3 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 905 (2013), Kim D. Chanbonpin Jun 2015

“It’S A Kākou Thing”: The Dadt Repeal And A New Vocabulary Of Anti-Subordination, 3 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 905 (2013), Kim D. Chanbonpin

Kim D. Chanbonpin

The repeal of DADT represents the triumph of non-discrimination rhetoric, while the MLDC's report stands for a renewed effort to expand the military's affirmative action policies for the benefit of people of color and women: two historically subordinated groups in the U.S. military. The repeal of DADT may have purchased equality for LGB service members, but at a premium. The strategic decision to rally around the non-discrimination model, I argue in this Article, will reinforce the continued subordination of LGB service members. As an alternative, I propose the application of kakou principles to military policies and programs for integrating LGB …


"You Miss 100% Of The Shots You Never Take": Virginia High School League's Policy Violates Title Ix By Preventing Transgender Student Athletes From Taking A Shot At Participating In Athletics, Sarah M. Jacques Jun 2015

"You Miss 100% Of The Shots You Never Take": Virginia High School League's Policy Violates Title Ix By Preventing Transgender Student Athletes From Taking A Shot At Participating In Athletics, Sarah M. Jacques

Sarah M Jacques

No abstract provided.


Women Made Whole: How Tort Law Can Change The Lives Of Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault Victims, Sara L. Crewson Mar 2015

Women Made Whole: How Tort Law Can Change The Lives Of Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault Victims, Sara L. Crewson

Sara L Crewson

Tort law and insurance companies are failing to provide female domestic violence victims with adequate access to civil courts, proper legal mechanisms with which to gain that access, and are far behind the times when compared to other gender-linked crimes like those of rape and sexual assault. The Restatement of Torts (Third) has classified domestic violence as an intentional tort, and most insurance policies will not provide coverage for harms that were committed intentionally. Certain homeowners' insurance policies won't provide coverage if a spouse tries to sue another spouse for harms committed, leaving vulnerable wives unable to seek compensation for …


Odious Discrimination And The Religious Exemption Question, Laura S. Underkuffler Feb 2015

Odious Discrimination And The Religious Exemption Question, Laura S. Underkuffler

Laura S. Underkuffler

Recently, claims have been asserted that religious exemptions should be afforded to individuals who object to providing public and commercial services to gay and lesbian individuals, as otherwise mandated by law (e.g., municipal clerks who must grant same-sex marriage licenses, or commercial vendors who are asked to serve at same-sex weddings). This article argues that just as religious exemptions of this sort are not granted for discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender, they should not be granted for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status. Discrimination on the basis of an individual's …


Sentencing Pregnant Drug Addicts: Why The Child Endangerment Enhancement Is Not Appropriate, Monica Carusello Jan 2015

Sentencing Pregnant Drug Addicts: Why The Child Endangerment Enhancement Is Not Appropriate, Monica Carusello

Monica B Carusello

No abstract provided.


Religious Exemptions, Marriage Equality, And The Establishment Of Religion, Nancy J. Knauer Dec 2014

Religious Exemptions, Marriage Equality, And The Establishment Of Religion, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

The advent of nationwide marriage equality has sparked a robust debate over the extent of religious liberties and the limits of civil rights protections. As public opinion regarding LGBT individuals and the families they form has evolved, religious beliefs that once served as the basis for law and policy have been increasing marginalized. Various efforts have been made to protect religious objectors who continue to believe that marriage is only between one man and one woman. For example, all of the states that had enacted marriage equality legislation included exceptions for clergy and religious organizations to ensure that they would …


Why Rape Should Not (Always) Be A Crime, Katharine K. Baker Dec 2014

Why Rape Should Not (Always) Be A Crime, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

The Article proceeds as follows. Part I explores the primary legal frameworks for understanding rape law over time. It traces the origins of rape as a sometimes civil, sometimes criminal, wrong—through the patriarchal view of rape as a property crime, to the feminist (and liberal) remake of rape into an individual criminal injury to autonomy. It then briefly discusses recent rejections of the liberal/feminist position. Parts II–IV explore the three major impediments to effective norm change in more detail. Part V, after explaining why the recent proposed revisions to the Model Penal Code are not likely to overcome the problems …


Legitimate Families And Equal Protection, Katharine K. Baker Dec 2014

Legitimate Families And Equal Protection, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

Abstract: This Article questions whether and why it should be unconstitutional to treat legitimate and illegitimate children differently. It argues that legitimacy doctrine is rooted in a biological essentialism completely at odds with contemporary efforts to expand legal recognition of nontraditional parenting practices including same-sex parenting, single parenthood by choice, surrogacy, and sperm donation. The routine invocation of legitimacy doctrine by advocates purporting to help nontraditional families is thus at best ironic and at worst dangerous. Analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s legitimacy cases reveals that liberal Justices, in trying to dismantle marriage—a legal construct—as the arbiter of legitimate parenthood, …


Words That Deny, Devalue, And Punish: Judicial Responses To Fetus-Envy?, Sherry F. Colb Dec 2014

Words That Deny, Devalue, And Punish: Judicial Responses To Fetus-Envy?, Sherry F. Colb

Sherry Colb

Abstract needed.


Some Thoughts On The Conduct/Status Distinction, Sherry F. Colb Dec 2014

Some Thoughts On The Conduct/Status Distinction, Sherry F. Colb

Sherry Colb

No abstract provided.